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Monday, 10 November 2008

Work Visas for Peru

Updated 5 September 2013

***Be sure you ask at immigrations about your visa as rules and fees seem to change often. You
now need an appointment in order to go to immigration. Make the
"derecho de tramite" payment in order to schedule your appointment right
away.***

One tip to remember is that speaking Spanish will help you greatly.
You'll be treated differently than if you speak English all the time,
it'll help you assimilate to Peru, and it'll make talking to the immigration officers easier. If
you're looking to learn Spanish, check out Fluenz Spanish, Rosetta Stone, and Synergy Spanish.

In order to get this visa your employer will have to request a work visa for you. You can find information at Migraciones. It's called "visa de trabajador". Some places are not willing to do this simply because of the high cost and time involved. It usually takes around three months and can cost up to $500. They are good for one year and you will get both a work visa in your passport and a carne de extranjeria. (foreign resident card / CE). For letters and documents to immigrations, go to Letters for Immigrations.

Form F007.

Pay the fee at the Banco de la Nacion

Legalised copy of your passport. NB: 30 September 2010, Peru joined the Hague Agreement. Legalisation rules have changed. Please see Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info.

After your contract has been approved by the Ministerio del Trabajo. Get your contract notarised by a notary or legalised by Migraciones. In order to get your contract approved by the Ministero del Trabajo, you may need your university degree apostillised, see Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info.

Make copies of everything so that they can stamp your copies. Leave the originals at the Mesa de Partes at Immigrations come back when they tell you to.

In theory, you no longer have to leave the country to pick up a residence visa. All the paperwork can now be done in Lima. However, some people have been asked to leave to get their visas. I'm not sure why. (Peru seems to change rules all the time). I think it's on a case by case basis.

Pick up your visa, bring copies of your passport and 2 passport photos. Call ahead and ask how much the visa will be. They might want you to go to a bank first and deposit the fee for the visa. You'll also need a carne sized photo when you pick up the visa.

44 comments:

I can give you information about residency, but I can't help you as far as giving you a job, etc. If you're married tryhttp://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2008/11/2e-resident-familymarriage-visa.html

If you have a job here in Peru, ask your employer.

If you already have a CE, look herehttp://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2008/11/2i-naturalisation-immigrant-status.html

If you're looking for a tramitador, to process your papers, try http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2008/11/2a-all-visas-onward-ticket.html

Hi thereI am a bit confused. I am in Peru on a 90 day tourist visa and want to get my resident work visa. Do I have to use form F004 to change my visa status or do I have to use form F007 to get a resident work visa? Can I get the resident work visa in Lima despite of my tourist visa without leaving the country?The F004 way costs me about 220 USD, the F007 way a LOT less. Do you know what INTERPOL charges for their canje?Thanks for your help!!!Maik

In order to get a work visa, you have to have an employer sponsor you, do you have that? If you do, then I believe you need both, but your employer should tell you exactly what you need. They should also pay for it, as well.

You can do all paperwork in Peru, there's no need to leave the country, the law was changed last July.

Hello..I'm coming to peru. I've got tourist visa for 30 days. But I realy want to get residence permit over here. As well as ant to work. Can I do any job without any permission? I also want to ask you what sort of jobs are available to do. I'm expart in sales and marketing as well as in Hospitality sectors while I had been in the UK for six years and good in english language. If you are very much familiar to help me, I'm giving you my e-mail address ashamoy@yahoo.co.uk If any other people can help me please you are welcome to mail me

I wanted to ask about the legalized passport copy that is needed for the work visa, is that means that they need a legalized copy of all the passport (all the pages) or just the first 2 pages where all the details are shown??

I am married to a Peruvian woman and I had a very easy time with Peruvian immigration.I am not a permanent immigrant and I have to renew my Carnet every year, but I can work just like other Peruvians.The new system makes it easier than ever to complete the whole process.Don't be afraid of Interpol, that part was also extremely easy and somewhat primitive.They do ask for three or four passport photos and a letter from my wife saying that I was her husband.The Interpol place had no live scan machine and just took fingerprints and had me send the forms to Washington to be processed and sent back to me in Peru.The Peruvian Imigration office was much more advanced and breazed us through the whole process. I did have to return two weeks later but then they just handed me the Carnet.Peru is Great!

I am an expat that has been living in Peru for a year on an expired tourist visa. I have a job teaching and am wondering what would happen if the government found out. Is deportation possible or common? What kinds of fines could be administered?

Hi,Don't worry, you'll be fine. Here's what you have to do. Simply pay a dollar a day for each day you overstayed. Look herehttp://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2008/11/2b-tourist-expired-visa-student-visa.html

Under NO circumstances should you tell immigrations that you are working here!

Other than that, you'll be fine. People overstay all the time. I know poeple who have been on tourist visas for three years.

Hi, i have investor visa, which i got on april, 2009 but now i am looking to get a job in peru as iam a professional sales manager with 8 years experince in auto sales , usa what options do i have to change my investot visa status to work visa and how is the process could you be kind enough to give me info on thatkind regards

I'd say your best bet would be to get an immigrant visa. Then you don't need an employer to renew your visa every year. Look here. http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2008/11/2i-naturalisation-immigrant-status.html

Thank you for putting together such a wealth of information regarding living in Peru as a foreigner. This site is a model for others in the same area. I have one question regarding obtaining of the residency visa. I work from home on my laptop for clients abroad. I would likely have no interest in working for locals in Peru. How would i go about applying for and receiving a residency visa?

Unless you'd work in Peru then you can't. YOu do have a couple of options.

1. Marry a Peruvian2. Open your own business. That's an investor's visa. YOu'll need 25,000 usd and to create jobs for 5 Peruvians.3. Retire there. You need to prove an income from a governmental or private retirement fund of at least 1,000usd a month.4. Simply border hop. I know people who have been doing it for years and years.

I am graduating this May and then moving to Cuzco to work. I have the employer writing the work contract. I know I can apply for the visa de trabajador in Cuzco, but is there an INTERPOL office there was well, or will I have to travel to Lima? Once I receive the visa, will I automatically get the carné de extranjería, or will I have to apply for that separately. Also, what entails a "legalized copy" of my passport? Thank you so much for making a truly helpful blog!

Hi Nico,I believe that the INTERPOL office is just in Lima, so you might have to travel there, but your employer should pay for that. Once you receive the visa, you'll have to apply for the CE (carnet de extranjeria) afterwards. However, I'm sure that can be done in Cusco. As to a legalised copy, that simply means taking your passport and a photocopy to a notary and having it legalised. They love doing this in Peru and there aer literally notaries all over the place. It's cheap and cost about $1 and may take a couple hours. So you leave the copy and come back in a bit to pick it up.

If your wife is Peruvian, then just get a spousal visa. If not, then you could border hop. I know people who have done it. Others who just pay the $1 a day fine. But it's certainly not an ideal situation.

ok wait i am a little confused-- i have a student visa rite now (not a work visa) for 3 years (studying masters at PUCP) i am marrying my peruvian fiance in march, will i automatically get work permission or will i still need a company to sponser me? because they NEVER want to sponser because there is always someone that already has the work permission....

I right now am in peru on a 3 year student visa...(study my masters at PUCP)...this is not a work visa....I am marrying a peruvian in march....will i automatically get work permission or will i still need a company to sponser me....because the sponsership thing is almost impossible...because there is always a candidate for the job that already has the permission....also what happens with my old carnet? do i need to pay a new one? i just paid 300$ for the student visa...

I have been living and working in Peru for close to 3 years.. I have my carnet de extranjeria, and that gives me my residency and ability to work here.. What happens if i decide to leave my job before the end date of my contract..What happens to my carnet my residency.. or What happens if i dont get another year contract....what are my options..What do i still need to do to live and have residency in peru

If you leave your job, you should be ok unless your employer reports it to immigration. If they do, then you'll probably have X days to leave. Since you've been in Peru for 3 years, get the inmigrante visa. It's a permanent visa.

Quick question : If you apply for a student visa to study in Peru how can you get a resident student visa? I have noticed they offer temporary student visas and resident student visas. I just wondered what you need to get the resident type of this visa.

hello sharon, my friend and me are planning to live in peru. I am a dentist while mt friend is a doctor. can we work there?. I heard that peru accepts foreign degrees. and we are not americans, so what do we need to obtain a license to work?.

Hey sharon i am married to a peruana if i get my carnet d. extrajeria due to being marriage with her can i also put a business there due to me now having a legal i.d. that allows me to work etc..thanks

Maybe you can help me with one thing...Do you maybe know in what cases you would need your diploma's appostillised? I am very confused about this, because I read some stories online of people that had to do this. However I just called with the ministerio de trabajo and they said that you just need a legalized copy of your original diploma from the notary and a translation to spanish....

Yikes! Just saw that I hadn't answered this. It depends on the case. Some employers ask for it and sometimes immigration might ask for it. It's pretty easy to get if you're from the US and it's good forever, so just get it just in case.

hello, could you tell me if I can get a working visa if I work self employed? ( I am a massage therapist) and have been working in Peru for a few years but now need to apply for something more perminent (I have just sent you an email on the massages visa pag before I saw this one! Sorry!!)I am looking in to options of applying for a carnet de extranjeria o work visa, I have been living with my boyfriend for nearly 2 years, and we are planning on going to the UK in a few years, and i am trying to find th ebst option. Many thanks

Hey Sarah! yep, have to moderate all comments, but don't worry I got all your messages :) Here's the thing about Peru: they don't recognise common law marriages. Neither does the USA. Hopefully some day all countries will.

I actually have a post scheduled for July 15th, http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2013/07/alternative-ways-to-get-residency-in.html which might be able to help you. I don't want to re-write everything here since it'll be coming out in a couple days, but I will email it to you. Hope it helps!

I am trying to start a business in Peru and in inorder to do this the right way I believe I need a residency to start. I have read this most helpful website but would like a confirmation to help my understanding a long if possible. I have 3 options for a residency #1 marry a women #2 have an employer apply for one on my behalf. #3 invest 39k as an investor. Are these the only 3 options or is there more?

Yep, you do need residency. Those would be your options right now at the moment. There are a couple of other options that you could do later. But first, option #2, to get a work visa, you'd only be allowed to work for that employer, you couldn't turn around and open a business while on a work visa. You could also get a student visa, but like option #2, that would just allow you to study. To open a business, of those above options, only #1 and #3 would allow you to do it.

Your other options would be to get a resident visa, such as option #2, wait 2 years and then become a permanent resident or a Peruvian citizen, then you would own your own visa (or be a citizen) and be able to do what you wanted.